{cherry} EVERYDAY

Well hello, BACKLOG! I’ve been lazy updating, I know. It’s actually tragic. I maintain other blogs (if you call that maintaining as they haven’t been updated for so long). My tummy shows otherwise. It’s huge now and part of the reason why it’s in that state is our constant dining out which really began during my post-birthday trip to Hong Kong with daughter dearest.

It was an almost week-long vacation. We always travel to Hong Kong during winter season as it’s always a welcome change from hot and humid Manila. We stayed at Central during this trip only because Hotel Benito in Kowloon was already fully-booked. Although I was dismayed by the size of our hotel room at Mini-Hotel (the word mini was some sort of a warning which I ignored obviously), the location was perfect. It’s in Central. Shopping, dining and more shopping and dining are easy as everything is walking distance from our hotel. But you have to be prepared to go up and down a pretty steep staircase. It was fun at first and I thought I could use the exercise but after the 3rd day, I was already cursing going up those steps especially when we’ve just eaten and I was holding shopping bags in both hands. I’m still trying to figure out how in the hell I was able to manage carrying those.

Anyway, the highlight of our trip this year was the FOOD. I’ll just make a rundown and have detailed posts later on when I have more time. Between Joe & Cherry and Life, blogging now has to take a back seat.  Wawa naman travel blog ko.

First meal upon touchdown…Maxim’s Food Delight at HKIA.

Then lunch at the always full Butao Ramen on the first day.

Just look at the long line of people hoping to get a table at this smallish resto (or more like a stall) in Central.

But it was worth the long line and long wait…

Butao King which I shared with my daughter as we were still full from the late breakfast we had at the airport. I still have dreams about this. Can’t wait to go back and try the Black King.

Then after some outlet shopping, this was merienda at a popular dessert place here in HK…HUI LAU SHAN Restaurant.  You can tell from the photo that their specialty is mango.

And this was dinner. A lovely discovery and it was just so near our hotel. I miss this place. I’ve been trying to find a similar resto here in Manila that serves Chicken Biryani (not in photo) and Greek salad as good as the ones we had here but it has been one epic fail after another.

PART II:  Tim Ho Wan, Saboten etcetera…

We finally got to dine in Ramen Yushoken last Monday and I discovered that they have the best Karaage in the whole of Metro Manila.  But I didn’t exactly fall head over heels in love with the ramen.  Was it because my taste or palette isn’t sophisticated enough?  I don’t know.  But don’t get me wrong again.  It’s not your run-of-the-mill ramen place either.  It’s kinda upscale actually.  It’s authentic.  They make the ramen noodles from scratch.  And the broth is satisfyingly good and filling.  You know and taste that it’s slowly simmered broth and not artificially flavored with pork broth cubes or something.  But I’ve had better.  Now I miss Butao Ramen and Ippudo in Hong Kong.  And my sister claims she’s had the best ramen somewhere at restaurants lehigh valley. But that’s my sister. To her less sophisticated palatte, everything is great. She’s going to kill me for this.

So would I recommend this to friends and family?  Yes, of course.  Service is fast and attentive without being overly irritating and clingy.  Hehe.   Would I recommend it to my enemies?  Probably not.

My order of Miso Ramen

Ramen Yushoken’s bestseller…Shoyu Ramen

Chahan with tasty pork for my daughter who is not so fond of ramen

The best Karaage. Crispy on the outside and juicy in the inside. Sounds familiar?

My son loved it here.

So have you jumped in on the latest craze? Yep, it’s Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter which everyone I know is raving about. Don’t tell me you haven’t. Well, you’re missing out. Seriously. So what is it, anyway? No, it’s not peanut butter. No, it’s not animal butter. How can I best describe it? Are you familiar with Speculoos Cookies? It’s made of that. And as brilliant and delicious as the Speculoos Cookie itself, somebody just thought about making it into a spread. How clever, right?!!!

Here’s to best describe it, straight from the horse’s, I mean, Trader Joe’s mouth…

Trader Joe’s Speculoos Cookie Butter is, in its most simplistic terms, spreadable Speculoos cookies. Speculoos cookies are classic Belgian cookies with great crunch, and a slightly caramelized, almost-but-not-quite-gingerbread flavor. (Try our Bistro Biscuits for a close approximation.) After the cookies are baked to a fabulous finish, they’re crushed into a fine powder and mixed with magical ingredients (read: vegetable oils) and turned into a smooth, spreadable substance we call Cookie Butter. It resembles peanut butter in color and consistency. Make no mistake, though; this is a treat through and through. Spread it on toast, bagels, pancakes or waffles. Use it as a dip for hunks of dark chocolate or pretzels or (gasp!) veggies like carrots or celery. You could keep it really simple and just use it as a dip for a spoon.

 

So now you’re asking how one can get hold of it…especially when you’re miles away from the US. Well, well, well. You need not look any further as you, yes YOU, can get it from our online store, joeandcherry!!!! While everyone else is selling it at a ridiculously high price, you may find our price very reasonable. Go visit our site and find out. Like us on Facebook and even follow us on Instagram. As Christian Grey clearly says it, “We aim to please.”

joeandcherry 
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joeandcherry
Instagram: joeandcherry
Email: joeandcherrymanila@gmail.com

It’s been fun and exciting watching new restaurants and cafes sprout like mushrooms all over Quezon City and the rest of Metro Manila. Seeing young chefs and not so young ones establish themselves in the culinary or restaurant scene. From foreign chefs to local ones making names for themselves, it’s been a good how many years for foodies so far.

But let’s not forget the oldies. The ones that have already made a mark in the restaurant scene. They haven’t lost their glory. In fact, I prefer “old” restaurants like my all-time favorite UNO over the new players. I’d choose UNO over Stella, Wild Flour, and so many others without second thoughts. And it’s a good thing I had a chance to dine there again last week before bringing my sick little girl to the doctor.

UNO is my go-to resto for downright good food and service.

We always start our meals with bread and butter. You can’t go wrong with breads at UNO. Always freshly baked. I especially love the crusty kind.

This is the new menu. The resto changes its menu quarterly so there’s always something new to try and surprise you.

UNO also offers daily specials that comes with a choice of soup or salad. I chose this Potato and Leek soup that day.

Char-grilled Beef Tenderloin with Miso Sauce. Part of the Daily Specials which always consist of Meat and Poultry and Fish and Seafood. Btw, fish courses here are top-notch but I wasn’t in the mood for fish that day.

MG always goes for either chicken or pasta. She ordered the macaroni with bacon and egg. This is a no-brainer. Although UNO has no kid’s menu, there are always dishes that kids would love and this is one of them. Must-try too is the Macaroni and Cheese and even if it’s not on the menu, the Chef can accommodate your order and can whip up Macaroni and Cheese as per request.

MG and her macaroni

UNO serves one of the best coffees around. Even better than most coffee chains. It’s just brewed coffee but they do it well.

UNO is the perfect resto for family lunches, initimate meetings and come dinner, it turns into an awesome date place.

Uno Restaurant
195 Tomas Morato Avenue corner Sct. Fuentabella
Quezon City
374-0774

Other UNO Posts:

UNO, Still Our Place
Weight Gain, Cafe UNO, Carbs
Friends at Cafe UNO
Fish Piccata
Saturday Sweets: Lunch at my Fave Resto

One of the few things I wanted to do in Singapore during our last visit was to have High Tea at either The Fullerton Hotel or at TWG Tea Salon. But knowing me, I overbooked our schedule. I couldn’t even fit in an afternoon tea or a mid-morning snack during our stay. We were either too tired or too stuffed from a big breakfast, lunch or dinner. So I made a pact with myself to do this one thing on our next Singapore trip. But it looks like I won’t desperately have to. There’s now TWG Tea Salon at Greenbelt 5 and two Sundays ago, I finally had the chance to have an afternoon tea with my kids.

It’s just tea, right? But as with anything, it’s not only about the tea, or the coffee, or the wine….it’s about the experience. It’s the experience of having High Tea in the tradition of the Royals. Well, we were not exactly in England tea-ing with the Queen or the Duchess but it was close enough. Oh well, it wasn’t but still…It’s like getting some report engine but not exactly a report engine from InetSoft. Do you catch my drift?

TWG Tea Salon at Greenbelt 5 and soon at Resorts World Manila

My daughter looking so tired as we really had a long day which started with lunch at Stella. Not to mention that we had to wait for quite some time to get a table. The salon sits around 30 people and the queue is long. Waiting time is around 30 minutes to an hour.

My son who was just glad to finally get to sit down and relax.

Senses of the Orient Tea

TWG has an extensive menu and offers breakfast, all-day dining as well as main courses, desserts and of course, tea time set menu. I chose the Fortune Tea Set which includes a choice TWG tea from the extensive tea list, warm toasted sandwich, scones or muffins and 3 macarons.

Iced Eternal Summer Tea for MG

Club Sandwich for my son

Croque Provence

I had Croque Provence which is a Vegetarian warm toasted sandwich with Emmental cheese, tomatoes and asparagus. This is so good. I should try the Croque Imperial next time. I haven’t tried Emmental cheese before but after this, Emmental is my new favorite cheese.

They ran out of scones that day so we settled for muffins which was served with clotted cream and tea jelly. Not a huge fan of muffins but my daughter finished the two muffins with much gusto.

Tea jelly and clotted cream for the muffin and scones.  I love the clotted cream the texture of which is very much like mascarpone.  It’s light, smooth and airy like whipped butter

Macarons. I don’t exactly remember the flavors but they say that everything on the menu is tea-infused including these 3 little macarons.

Everything is served on a three-tiered tray.

All in all, the experience was pleasant. But for the price, they can very well throw in a few more items like petit fours, cheeses and canapes. Just saying….

TWG Tea Salon and Boutique
Level 1, Greenbelt 5
Legaspi Village
Makati